


Partners

by gingerbell



Category: Figure Skating RPF, Olympics RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-01-13 16:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1233817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingerbell/pseuds/gingerbell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little story about the best and cutest Ice Dancing pair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My Meryl

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while back before the Olympics, and I wanted to pull it back out again once I realized that people might want some Davis/White reading... because let's face it. They're perfect.  
> I don't intend this to be a very long story, probably only three or four chapters, but we will see what happens! I love constructive feedback. English is not my first language although I tried to really proofread. Sorry for any errors! Enjoy! :)
> 
> *This is just some angsty-fluff. I'm not a professional.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie's innocent thoughts end up being bad news for Meryl.

The familiar sound of blades cutting through the ice filled the air as Meryl slid her hand into mine, the two of us skating gracefully onto the middle of the rink. I watched her thin frame carefully, her head moving from side to side, a popping noise coming from her neck. She let my hand go once we came to a stop and put her hands on her hips, giving me a smile.

  
“Okay, the objective of today is?” she smiled, testing to see if I had been listening. She was always ready to go, always business oriented.

  
“Rotational lift, pair camel spin, circular footwork, then run the program. Yes Meryl, even after seventeen years I still listen to you.” I joked, giving her a smirk.

  
Her nose scrunched up with laugher, her eyes shining up at me as she gave me a playful push, causing me to skate back a little.

  
“Oh, Charlie.” She said as she took my hand again and started to skate, in a tone of voice that was meant just for me. Over the years it had grown into a sigh with a hint of exasperation and a touch of humor, and it was my favorite sound in the world. It was a gift from her just for me, even if she didn’t even know it.

  
We worked on our rotational lift until we felt more comfortable with it. We worked on the lifts every day to make sure that we knew them like the back of our hands, and we knew how to get out of them if there was ever an emergency. Even though I did all of the hard lifting, I was always in awe of Meryl when she was in the air. She had such a grace and elegance about her as I carried her around the ice, looking like a swan or a ballerina. I’m convinced it’s the reason we’ve won so many competitions.

  
She was my best friend, my partner, and my other half. We had been together for so long that being together became second nature. Wherever she was, I wanted to be, and vice versa. I respected her so much and her opinion mattered to me more than anyone else. We were the perfect pair.

  
We never stepped over the line of being partners, even though it was a constant struggle for me for a few years. Growing up with someone and heading into the teenage years causes for strange emotions to arise, but I did a good job of pushing them out of my mind. We had a goal – Olympic gold. I wasn’t going to jeopardize that, something we’ve worked on for seventeen years, just for a chance with her. I loved the relationship we had now, although sometimes I found it hard to remain strong around her when she was being flawless.

  
Our coaches over the years have told us both to not get distracted, to keep our eyes on the prize. Those words run through my mind every time I look at her and get a pang in my chest. Having to pull her close, keep her safe and lift her in the air and have it mean nothing more than two partners practicing was so difficult, especially on days like today when she looked absolutely perfect. Her tiny frame was warm and it held onto me strongly as I spun her around, Meryl exiting the lift perfectly like usual.

  
I shook my head, throwing my blond curls around in the air. I had to get those thoughts out of my head. I had to focus.

  
Meryl skated towards me with her hands on her hips, breathing a little heavily. She gave me a once over, her eyes crinkling a little at the edge. She knew something was up. She didn’t even have to say it.

  
“I’m fine.” I said to her, although she saw right through that too.

  
“Do you feel okay? Are you sick? Do you need to take a break?” she asked, her voice full of concern. My Meryl, always putting others before herself, always looking out for me, her partner.

  
I shook my head and skated forward to grab her hand. “No, I’m alright, really. Pair camel spin?” I said, and she flashed me a bright smile.

  
We practiced the spin a few times, feeling pretty confident about where it was. Meryl nodded to me after the fourth try, reaching up to take her hair out of its bun. It cascaded down past her shoulders to the middle of her back like a dark waterfall. She brought her hands up to comb through a few silky stray pieces before putting it back up in a tighter, neater bun.

  
I gulped as I watched her, willing myself to stay focused. I’ve always loved her hair, and she knew it. I can think of many instances on buses and planes where she would let me attempt to braid it, eventually falling asleep in my lap before being able to see my finished masterpieces.

  
“One more time, just for me?” She asked, and I nodded, brushing my hair out of my eyes.

  
The entry into the spin was just like every other time we had practiced it: clean and precise. It was all going well until her hairband snapped, giving me a sudden face-full of her dark, strawberry smelling hair. It filled my mouth and eyes, and I was unable to see anything, losing focus and not knowing where we were in the spin anymore. I tried to brush it out of my face but my sudden movement caused me to loosen my grip on her, the two of us to becoming offset from each other. I had that horrible fall feeling shoot through my veins as I tried to steady us but to no avail, the two of us sliding apart and toppling onto the ground, the force pushing us away from each other.

  
“Meryl?” I shouted, digging my toe-pick into the ice so I would stop spinning, frantically looking around for her. She had no depth perception and would have no idea how close she was to the wall without me there to tell her. I got up and saw her crouched near the edge of the rink, her body just starting to slow down to a halt, hitting the edge of the rink with a bang.

  
I quickly got up and skated over to her, sliding down on my knees when I got close enough. I saw our coach get up and run down the stairs towards us, and that could only mean one thing, and it wasn’t good.

  
“Meryl?” I asked again, quieter this time, gently placing my hand on her shoulder, a million things running through my head.

  
She looked around for a few moments as if to get her bearings before she slowly brought a hand up to her eye.

  
I gasped when I saw it. A deep, bloody gash ran all the way across her cheek, just a few inches underneath her left eye. My skate must have cut her when we were thrown apart in the haze of the fall.

  
Blood was starting to drip down her face as she brought a finger up to feel around, pulling it back quickly when she felt blood. She still looked a little out of it and I wondered if she hit her head. She looked up at me and seemed to be relieved that I was okay, pulling me a little closer to her.

  
I didn’t have much time to comfort her before Zoueva got down onto the ice, pulling us apart and putting Meryl’s head in her hands, mumbling to herself in Russian. She handed Meryl some gauze from her pocket and told her to press it tightly against the gash as she gently helped her up and started to have her skate off the ice.

  
I helplessly followed them, guilt starting to drip through my very core. I did this to her. I caused this. My one job is to protect Meryl and keep her safe, and I ended up injuring her, and it looked bad. This was all my fault.

  
I grabbed onto her back and helped Zoueva help her off the ice, putting her guards on for her.

  
“Take her to hospital. Practice over for today.” She said as she led Meryl off the rink, her accent thick and heavy.

  
I nodded as I helped Meryl into my car, leaving Zoueva behind and quickly making it to the hospital just down the street. I grasped Meryl’s hand tightly as she suffered silently in the passenger seat, sitting very still with both of her eyes closed, still holding the bloody gauze up to her cheek.

  
I felt the guilt spread as I helped her into the emergency room, calling both of our moms while the doctors debated whether or not stitches would be the most effective way of closing the wound. Meryl was a trooper through the whole thing even though I could feel her heart sink as they realized stitches was the way to go.

  
“Our mom’s are coming.” I told her, grasping her hand tightly. Her grip was strong and steady, and she nodded as the doctors prepared for stitches, her eyes shutting instantly at the sight of the needle.

  
I opened my mouth to try and offer her some words of comfort right as our mom’s showed up, Meryl’s mom flying into the room and grabbing her other hand. Meryl gave my hand a squeeze before she let it go and I felt my mom’s hand on my arm, pulling me out to the hallway.

  
I knew that it wasn’t life threatening. I knew that she would be okay. She was a trooper and a lot stronger than I was, and I knew she would get through it. But Meryl, my partner, my best friend, was sitting in that room getting stitches because of me. I caused her to go through not only the pain of a deep cut to the face, but the pain of being sewn up. I felt guilty and stupid. This was all my fault.

  
I could hear her start to cry quietly, and I knew it was bad. I couldn’t just stand here. I knew that she wanted to be with her mom, but I couldn’t be this close and not be by her side. I rushed out of the hospital, my mom at my heels, ready to drive me home.

  
The car ride was silent. I sat there with my eyes closed, envisioning the fall over and over again in my head, the look of confusion on her face as she realized she was hurt, her eyes taking in the blood and not quite understanding what had happened at first. If I would have just been focused, none of this would have happened. If I hadn’t been thinking about things that would never happen, if I had just done my job, we would still be practicing.

  
I walked quietly up to my room once we got home, shutting the door behind me and sitting on my bed, our career flashing before my eyes. Sure, I had dropped her. We had both gotten hurt, but I had never been the one to cause her to bleed, just because of my own stupidity. This all could’ve been prevented if I was focused and not dreaming about things that are never going to happen.

  
I laid there for a few hours and looked at all of the photos I had up. I hadn’t spent a lot of time in my bedroom, especially now that I lived in a house on campus, but since it was summer I decided to move back for the few months since Meryl was going back home. My room hadn’t really changed since high school. It was a dark, hunter green and there were a few movie posters and things on the wall, but it was relatively clean except for the bulletin board over my bed.

  
It was completely full of pictures. Meryl and me in Japan, when we won our medals in Vancouver, a horrible pre-middle school photo of us in our 90s skating gear, and a few silly ones here and there. I thought about every memory associated with each picture. We had gone through so much together and I hoped we would continue to be together.  
I ran my hands through my hair repeatedly, in the middle of my own pity party when someone knocked at my door. I sighed, heaving myself up and walking over to open it, surprised by who I saw at the other side. A tired and bandaged Meryl was giving me her signature smile, her eyes still sparkling somehow.

  
“Since when do you close the door?” she asked quietly, stepping inside.

  
My response got caught in my throat as I turned around to see her bandage in the light. Her eyes were unharmed thank goodness, but there was a thick bandage covering what I assumed to be stitches that covered most of her cheek. My face fell as I saw it, realizing how much it must hurt.

  
“How are you?” I asked her, suddenly unable to look at her in the eyes.

  
“I’m alright.” She smiled faintly. “It feels better than it looks.”

  
“Well that’s a relief, because it looks awful.” I said.

  
She smiled at my comment although I didn’t mean it as a joke. “I’ll go back for a few checkups before I can get them taken out. It shouldn’t scar if I use this special cream they gave me.”

  
I looked at the floor for a few minutes before I managed to look at her face. “I’m so sorry, Mer.”

  
She took a step towards me as she answered. “It’s okay, Charlie—“

  
“No, it’s not okay!” I shouted, turning around and taking a few steps towards my window.

  
“I don’t blame you Charlie, it’s not your fault.” She said defensively, taking another step towards me.

  
“Yes, it is! I’m supposed to protect you! My job is to make sure you’re safe and that nothing bad ever happens to you. I could’ve really hurt you just because of something stupid like losing focus, something that we have always been told not to do!”

  
“Charlie, my hairband snapped and hit you in the face! I don’t blame you for losing focus, I lost focus too!” she said louder. This was as close as we were ever going to get to having an argument.

  
I sighed, frustrated at myself and the fact that I was now yelling at her. I had hurt her and yet here she was, at my doorstep, taking in every word I was yelling at her. I couldn’t screw it up. I ran my hands through my hair and turned around to face her, her patient and kind face staring back at me, waiting for me to compose myself. It seemed like she was always waiting for me to catch up.

  
“You’ve dropped me before, and that hurts a lot more than this.” She said quietly as I brought my hand up to the bandage, my thumb running over the gauze lightly. “Stop beating yourself up. I don’t blame you. Things happen, okay?”

  
I nodded to her, and she understood. Of course she understood. She would always understand me and would try to make me feel better when I was upset, and I would always do the same for her.

  
“Can I see it?” I asked, and she nodded, pulling her hands out her jacket pocket and showing me a bottle of antiseptic.

  
“Yeah, I actually should clean it again before I go home. I have to watch out for infections, especially since it’s on my face.” She said, walking over to the end of my bed and sitting down comfortably like always, making herself at home as usual.

  
“What else did the doctor say?” I asked as I walked slowly over and sat next to her on the bed, the setting sunlight shining in through my blinds being the only real light in my room.

  
“Other than the risk of infections, nothing really. I should be able to skate again tomorrow although I should keep both of my feet on the ground so the stitched don’t snap.”  
“So twizzles tomorrow?” I laughed quietly, looking up at her, realizing that the left side of her face was a little swollen.

  
“Twizzles. Perfect.” She giggled, rearranging herself on my bed before she looked down at her hands seriously. “Will you do it?” she asked quietly, holding out the antiseptic bottle to me.

  
I nodded and offered her a little smile as I scooted a little closer to her, turning to face her completely. I held her head in my hands and brought my fingers up to the edge of the tape, slowly starting to gently peel it off, watching her eyes for any signs of discomfort. She held my gaze confidently as I continued to take the gauze off, the black stitches and caked on blood slowly being revealed from underneath them. I tried not to change my facial expression at all, but I think Meryl knew that it looked bad. Her eyes fell a little, something that nobody else but me would’ve noticed or understood.

  
I pushed back another pang of guilt as I unscrewed the antiseptic bottle. I felt so guilty for doing this to my partner, but she would be unhappy if I brought it up anymore, and the last thing I wanted her to be was unhappy. I took a piece of clean gauze and dipped it in the antiseptic, holding it out above her stitches.

  
“This is probably going to sting.” I whispered, and she nodded, looking prepared. I slowly brought it down to her stitches and wiped it gently across a little section. She gasped quietly and pursed her lips, closing her eyes for a moment. I swallowed another rush of guilt as I waited for her to nod at me again. When she did, I quickly brushed it across the whole cut, the dried blood coming off without any scrubbing, thank goodness. She started to breathe deeply once I tossed the old piece of gauze away, looking miserable.

  
I took her head in my hands again and tilted it up a little bit, gently blowing air onto her cheek in order to take away some of the stinging, even if it did just make it dirty again. She smiled at me thankfully as I blew one last rush of air, taking some more clean gauze and making a new bandage for her.

  
I taped one side and slid the gauze gently over the stitches to the other before taping it gently, smoothing my thumb over her cheek in order to made sure it stuck. I looked in her eyes again and she held my gaze, a strange look on her face. She looked thankful yet intense, a new passion in her eyes somewhere. I looked harder, trying to understand what she might be telling me, but I came up blank.

  
There was a strange tension in the air, one that I hadn’t felt since our teenage years. We were so aware of each other, even more than we were on the ice. The feeling was so thick you could cut through the air with a knife. I had the overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss her, but I swallowed it. That would only create a cascade of events, and I couldn’t jeopardize Olympic gold. I don’t know how many minutes had passed before I shook myself out of the trance, realizing that I had been holding her head in my hands the whole time.

  
I gently let her go and gave her a smile as she blinked rapidly and scooted back a little, seeming to have felt the same thing. She quietly gathered her things, giving me a smile as she held out her hand for the antiseptic wash.

  
I handed it to her and walked her out of my room and quietly down the stairs, giving her a hug as I opened the door.

  
“Bye Meryl!” My mom shouted from the kitchen.

  
“Bye Mrs. White.” She shouted back, taking a step outside. “Bye, Charlie.” She smiled, pulling her keys out of her purse.

  
“Bye.” I said, shutting the door once I was sure that she made into her car okay. I closed my eyes and sighed, shutting the door and leaning my head back against the dark oak, collecting my thoughts for a few moments.

  
I couldn’t lose focus. I couldn’t afford to, not now, not with the Olympics right around the corner. But it was easier said than done with Meryl as your partner.


	2. Distracted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's just so... distracting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Meryl's point of view instead of Charlie's. Thanks for all of the kind words about this story and thanks for taking time out of your day to read it. I hope you enjoy it! Please give me your thoughts; I love to know what I could do better for next time!
> 
> (P.S. Did you see their Gala performance? Was it not perfect!)

The bus made a loud noise as it finally pulled away from the arena, turning out into lanes of busy traffic. The lights of the city reflected in the bus windows as I gazed out of them, putting in some headphones and pulling my “The Lord of the Rings” book out of my backpack.

We were in California for an Expo and were heading back to the hotel for the evening after our performance. The bus was filled with American ice skaters and ice dancing pairs, all tired and yet some of them still on a performance rush. I looked around at the practically empty bus, taking in my surroundings. Alex was laughing into a camera, talking with Jeremy and Maia while reviewing the show in a video that would probably be uploaded to his youtube channel. Marissa was texting on her phone, Evan was zipping up his jacket in order to prepare for a nap, and the rest of the bus was up in the front, chatting excitedly about the expo.

I looked over and saw Charlie sitting a row back from me on the other side, his back against the window and his legs propped up on the empty seat next to him. He sighed as he pulled his ipod out of his pocket and put in some black headphones, closing his eyes for a moment while fiddling in his jacket pocket for his rubiks cube. He brushed his hair out of his face before he started whirling the puzzle pieces around with amazing speed, looking focused and determined.

I giggled at him and his rubiks cube. He brought that thing with him to every competition and always had to solve it a few hundred times before we would get back to a hotel. It was his way of de-stressing and thinking about his performance, something that all of did in different ways. Alex and Maia would talk to a camera. Evan would nap. Charlie would rubik’s cube. I would read.

He looked up at my giggling and gave me a look, only making me laugh more until I tore my eyes away from him and back to my book, fully aware that he was still watching me. I sighed, willing the color to stay out of my cheeks as I tried to find my spot again, but his eyes were too distracting. He was always so distracting.

Charlie and I were perfect partners. We always had been, ever since the moment I grabbed his hand and skated with him across the arena back in Michigan when we were ten. From that moment on, we both knew that we were partners for life. We had a great relationship and he was the most important person in my life. His opinion mattered to me more than anyone else’s and I always wanted to be with him. Life was good when I was with him.

We were the perfect mixture of salty and sweet. I was a planner, a business oriented worker, while Charlie was a little more of a free spirit. He knew when to joke around when I was stressed about something and reminded me to have a little more fun, yet always knew when to knock it off and put in a good day’s practice. He always covered for me in interviews when I didn’t know what to say, speaking easily like it was no problem while I was struggling to remember what the question was. I knew how to get him places on time and remind him to make a plan, yet I felt like he did so much more for me than I ever did for him.

I looked over at him after he had gone back to his rubik’s cube and was reminded about a time when I was twelve. I had come down with a horrible case of the flu and was put on bed rest until I was better. I missed a week of skating and was still weak for a few days afterwards, the virus taking its toll on me. Even though Charlie was instructed to stay away from me, he still walked all the way over to my house, unbeknownst to either of our moms, and brought me warm chicken noodle soup and movies. He took care of me all week, making sure that I was comfortable and well, and even tried to teach me how to solve that ridiculous rubik’s cube. His caring personality and his sweetness was always one of his best qualities, and he still is protective of me to this day.

I knew that he relied on me, and I tried to be there for him as much as possible. He knew that I depended on him, not just for depth perception, but for so much more. When the stress of it all was too much, he knew what to do to make me feel better. He knew when I needed a reassuring hug or a lame joke or a new bottle of nail polish. He took care of me, just like a partner should.

We were never anything other than partners, even though there were moments where I desperately wanted things to happen between us. Middle school was rough, being with him five hours a week, talking to him about everything and yet having to keep all of my little feelings a secret. We had an ultimate goal, and we had worked so hard to get where we were that I didn’t want to jeopardize all of it just for a middle school crush. But as I got older, I realized that it might not be a middle school crush. It was a lot more than that.

I sighed again, clearing my throat a little as I once again tried to find my place in my book. I was happy with the relationship we had now and I wouldn’t change it for the world. We had accomplished so much together and I was proud of us. All of our hard work was paying off and there was no one else on the planet that I would rather share all of this with.

“Hey Meryl!” Jason Brown’s cheery voice said from the seat behind me. His head appeared over the headrest and gave me a smile, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “What are you reading?”

Charlie and I were old in comparison to everyone else. We had watched skaters come and go throughout our time, and it was always interesting to see the new recruits and how they all fit with the group. Or maybe it was just interesting to me, an anthropology major. I had made some really close friends with people here, but I was not expecting that with Jason. He fit so well into our little group and I ended up really enjoying his company. He didn’t have a negative bone in his body and he was always so sweet and happy, eager to learn and ask about how your day was.

“Lord of the Rings.” I said, turning the cover over to show him.

“Oh, with Gollum?” he smiled.

“Yes, with Gollum.” I laughed.

“I haven’t read those, I’ve just watched the movies. Don’t hate me.” He said, looking worried.

“Jason!” I said, appalled. “You really need to read them! I have them all, if you ever want to borrow them. You’re missing out.”

“I know, I know! Maybe after the Olympics I’ll have some time. How do you think your performance went today?” he asked, his fingers fiddling with an exposed string sticking out from the seat material.

“I thought it went well, it felt good. Every performance makes me feel so much more prepared for the Olympics.” I said, closing my book but keeping my place with my thumb.

“I totally know what you mean.” He said, pushing his glasses up again. “I thought you guys looked beautiful. You two always look so graceful and elegant, we are all so jealous!” she said.

“Aw, Jason…” I trailed off. “It’s all Charlie. He does all the heavy work.” I laughed.

“We all know that’s not true!” Jason giggled, his eyes twinkling. “I’ll let you get back to your book. Did you want to grab dinner when we get back to the hotel?”

“Sure, but you know Charlie will probably come along too.” I said.

“Perfect. Happy reading.” He smiled, disappearing behind the seats.

Me and Charlie. How we didn’t get sick of each other was amazing. We were almost always together, even when we had the chance to be apart, we chose to be together. It just felt better that way. We were so used to it being the two of us, that us being near each other but not together just felt strange.

When all of the ice skaters were together, they would always get a kick out of our communication. Charlie and I could practically communicate without words. I could read his eyes and his mind perfectly and tell exactly how he was feeling or what he was saying. We knew each other inside and out, forwards and backwards, left to right. People were always surprised by the fact that we could sit in the same room for hours and not say a word, yet hold conversations through facial expressions. When you’re with someone that much, you just learn.

“Charlie!” Maia, Alex, and Jeremy said as they all made their way back to our section of the bus, the camera still on but currently filming the floor. Alex pointed it up towards me and I smiled and waved, giggling as Alex made a funny face before panning over to Charlie, asking him a few questions before turning it off and asking about dinner.

“Can we please hit up a McDonalds, I’m going to starve.” Alex said dramatically. “A box of 20 McNuggets is calling my name; I can hear the angel chorus descending from the heavens.”

Charlie’s signature laugh rang through the buss as Maia shoved her brother a little, rolling her eyes. Jason giggled from the seat behind me as Maia turned the camera back on and captures some of his cuteness on film.

“I’m eating with Meryl, so wherever she wants to go.” Charlie said, and I felt his eyes on my face. Thankfully I was looking at my book.

“Meryl!” Alex shouted at me, holding out a hand towards my seat. “McDonalds, please! I will literally do anything.” I giggled and looked up at Charlie.

“Sure, McDonalds is fine.” I said as Alex sighed. “If you can make it until then, anyways.”

“It’s going to be tough, but I’ll do it for you, Meryl.” He said, pulling his phone out and texting someone.

“Maia! Alex! Jeremy!” Marissa yelled from the front of the bus and the three of them got up and left, going to watch a laughing baby video that Marissa wanted to show them.

I sighed, bringing a hand up to feel my stitches. I thankfully only had a few more days of wearing them left, but they still hurt more than I thought they would. I fiddled with the bandage as I tried to rearrange it so it wasn’t sticking to the edge of the stitches but to no avail. I leaned my head back against the window and closed my eyes, trying to ignore the now throbbing pain that was being emitted from my wound. It had been hurting a lot today and I felt kind of off kilter.

I opened my eyes and saw that Charlie was looking at me, a worried look in his eyes. They were asking if I was okay, and I gave him a nod that didn’t seem to convince him. I knew that he felt bad for what happened, but I didn’t blame him. Things happen. The last thing I wanted him to feel was guilty, but I knew that he still did. It could’ve been a lot worse. At least there were no broken bones involved. I would take a cut to the cheek over a broken ankle any day. I don’t think there was anything I could do to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault and that he should stop feeling badly because of it. I had tried every way I knew how.

Charlie got up and walked carefully over to the seat next to me, sitting down with a slight huff while I took out my earbuds.

“Can we put in a workout before bed sometime?” he asked.

“Sure, that would be perfect. After McDonalds though, because I don’t know if Alex can go any longer without food.” I giggled.

Charlie laughed quietly too, his blond hair moving with his head. “We can go over our performance then?”

“Deal.” I said, reaching up and letting my hair loose from its tight, head pinching bun. My hair fell down to my left side and I shook it out a little, looking up at Charlie to say something but being completely caught off guard by his expression. His eyes were big and he was sporting a tiny smile. There was something in his eyes that I wasn’t used to seeing and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Do you want to braid it?”I asked, wondering if that was what he wanted.

He seemed to jump out of his daze before he nodded, giving me a larger smile.

I turned around so that I was facing the window and leaned back into him, getting comfortable and opening my book again, finally finding my spot after all of that distraction. I felt his fingers tentatively grab a few strands before he separated some into sections, probably momentarily forgetting how to braid. I felt his fingers gently fold my hair back and forth, never pulling or being aggressive.

“Are you alright?” He asked quietly after a little while, a few strands of my hair already braided and taken out.

“I think so.” I replied truthfully. We agreed a long time ago never to lie to each other, although sometimes that part got a little shady. Sometimes lies were necessary. “I’m just really tired.”

“Well it’s been a big week.” He said gently and I smiled, nodding. “How are your stitches feeling?” He asked. I knew he saw me play with them.

“I just want them out. They’re a little…” I trailed off, not knowing the right word.

“Distracting?” he offered, his voice quiet and husky sounding.

I swallowed. “Yes, distracting.” He was going to be the death of me.

We didn’t say much after that and I lost track of time, the lull of the bus and the lights of the city sending me off to sleep.

I woke up as the bus slammed to a halt at our hotel and made the gut wrenching noise of opening its doors. I opened my eyes and realized what had happened, looking around and noticing that I was horizontal.

After trying to resist, I had fallen asleep with my head on Charlie’s lap, my hair done up in all sorts of loose, tight, and messy braids. I felt one of his arms gently rest on my shoulder and I brought a hand up to my cheek to check my bandage before I turned around in his grasp. I looked up at him and realized he was reading my The Lord of the Rings book, looking completely engrossed in page twenty five.

I giggled a little as he looked down at me, smiling and closing the book in order to give it back to me. “Sorry.” He said.

I only smiled as I sat up slowly, feeling my braids shift with the movement. I laughed as I began to take them out, standing up a little to stretch and look out the window, a Hilton in front of us.

“McDonalds!” Alex yelled from the front of the bus and started to gather his things.

Charlie walked back over to his seat as we all grabbed our things and made a b-line for McDonalds, grabbing our food to go and finding the hotel gym, making a little picnic in a circle on the floor.

“Sweet and Sour is the only dipping sauce, really people.” Jeremy said as he opened another green package.

“Are you kidding me? Ranch!” Jason giggled as he took a bite of his hamburger.

“I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s not Barbeque!” Charlie laughed, and everyone agreed.

“Why is that even a sauce, I really do wonder that sometimes.” Alex said, turning to Charlie.

“You spend time thinking about that?” Charlie asked.

“You don’t?” Alex replied, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh, fine Meryl, do you spend your free time thinking about why barbeque is offered as a sauce?” Charlie asked me, playfully pushing me slightly as we both laughed. I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t say anything and had to put down my chicken nugget for fear of choking.

“We’re so weird, you guys.” Maia laughed, catching Jason’s eye and cracking up again.

Our picnic was quickly cleaned up and skates were laced up, taking to the ice rink that was conveniently on the next lot over after a few minutes. Stretches and warm up were filled with lots of laughter, as it always is when we are all together, and Charlie and I quickly got away from the group and skated out to the middle to talk about our program. I grabbed his hand and got a feel for the ice, looking down and watching my skates.

“Positives?”I asked, letting go of his hand and putting my hands on my hips.

“Definitely our circular footwork and our twizzles. Our opening pose was also probably the best we’ve had it in a while.” He said, digging his toe pick into the ice.

“Yes, circular footwork and twizzles. I also thought our camel spin was great, it was tight and had lost of speed. Things to work on?”

“Not rushing.” He said, and I knew it before it came out of his mouth.

“At the end of the second section.” I said and he nodded. “We need to take make one more rotation on that lift before I exit and move on, I think that would fix that. We should ask Zoueva when we get back home.”

“Definitely.” He said, grabbing my hand. “One run through and call it good? You look exhausted.”

“Okay.” I said, skating around him in a circle and willing myself to focus. Ever since I had fallen asleep on the bus and gotten off, my brain was a little fuzzy. I was tired and my stitches burned, but I felt really clammy and my eyes hurt. I knew Charlie could tell something was off and wanted to get me to bed as soon as possible, and he was trying to hurry things up.

We started our program and it was going well, keeping both of my feet on the ground and not doing any of the lifts. Our circular footwork was as good as we’ve ever had it and I felt good until I hit the twizzles. We were going so fast and my brain was a few steps behind in the program, and I knew that something bad was going to happen. I suddenly felt so dizzy and lightheaded that I spun out, landing on the ice with a thump. I continued to spin and flail as I tried to stop myself, not know where I was in relation to the wall, but I was so tired and weak that I didn’t have the energy.

I felt Charlie’s hand grab mine and pull me to stop me, kneeling down to my level and grabbing my face in his hands. He looked worried, and I hoped nothing happened with my stitches. I did not want to get them replaced. Alex and Maia were standing over me now, Maia reaching down to grab my hand.

“Meryl?” Charlie asked, looking me in the eyes to see if I had a concussion.

I gasped for air, closing my eyes and focused on trying to make the world stop spinning.

“I’ll get some water.” I heard Alex say as he sprinted off the ice, over to his bag.

“I’ll get a cold compress.” Maia said as she did the same, following her brother quickly.

I opened my eyes slowly and brought a hand up to my stitches, trying to ignore the throbbing feeling that was coming from them. Charlie’s eyes were still worried.

“Did you hit your head?” he asked, bringing a hand back to feel for any bumps.

“Not hard.” I breathed, still trying to get enough air into my lungs. The room was still spinning and my vision was blurry as I closed my eyes again, trying not to pass out.

“Do you want to sit up?” He asked and I nodded slowly, grabbing onto his forearm as he helped me into an upright position. I leaned my head against his chest as I tried to steady myself, Alex and Maia returning from their bags with water and an ice pack. I took a few sips of water and the world stopped spinning as quickly, the four of us just sitting there for a while as I tried to gather myself.

“How do you feel?” Maia asked gently, brushing some hair out of my face.

“Better.” I whispered, blinking rapidly, the world finally coming to a halt.

“You guys can finish practicing, I’m going to take Meryl upstairs.” Charlie said, nodding to the siblings.

“Thanks you two.” I told them as Charlie slowly helped me up into a standing position, my legs feeling wobbly and tired. I looked at him and he pursed his lips, gently grabbing around my waist and underneath my knees, holding me tightly to him and skating off the ice. Jason was waiting for us with our guards as we took them thankfully before Charlie slid his skates off, slinging them over his shoulder and sliding on his shoes on our way back to the hotel.

I had a horrible feeling in the back of my mind that my stitches had become infected, but I didn’t want to believe it. I knew that that was what Charlie was thinking too, but I didn’t want it to be true. We couldn’t afford anything to happen this close to the Olympics. I looked up at him and we knew we were on the same page, silently communicating in the elevator ride up to the fifth floor. An infection would mean antibiotics. That would mean a few days off. That might mean stitches for the Olympics. It could mean a whole bunch of different things.

Charlie pulled a room key out of his pocked at opened the door to the hotel room, flipping the light switch on with his elbow and closing the door quietly behind him. He looked down at me for a few moments, still giving me a worrying look, one that I probably returned.

“When do you go to the doctor?” Charlie asked, setting his skates by the door before carrying me over to the bed, gently lying me down and kneeling in front of me in order to unlace my skates.

“The day we get back.” I said, closing my eyes and rubbing my forehead.

“They will know what’s wrong.” He reassured, sliding my left skate off before starting to untie my right.

I nodded, leaning back on the bed, wanting to lie down flat in case I passed out again. My brain was still recovering from the spinning and the fall. I felt horribly weak, being taken out by an infection. I wasn’t stupid, I knew that infections were dangerous and could be life threatening, but now-a-days it seems so archaic to be one-upped by one.

“I’m sorry.” I said as he slid my skate off, setting it on the ground next to my other one.

“Don’t be.” He said gently, sitting down on the bed next to me. “I just hope that it doesn’t get any worse.”

I sighed, trying to focus my scattered thoughts as I heard Charlie mumble something about getting water, returning a few moments later with a full glass in his hand. I sat up slowly and took the glass from him gratefully, taking a few small sips. The water really did help. Maybe I was just dehydrated or exhausted, even though we both worked so hard to be healthy. It was always a possibility.

I scooted back so that my back was against the headrest, putting my feet straight out on the bed. Charlie got up and grabbed the bottle of antiseptic out of my coat pocket and walked back over to the bed, crawling up next to me and giving me a nudge, wanting to get conformation from my eyes that he could clean my stitches.

I nodded, giving him a small smile that he returned as he peeled back the bandage slowly, his face falling a little as he did so. It must look bad. His eyes caught mine again for a few milliseconds and I knew they were infected. He did too.

He spread some antiseptic on a piece of gauze and cleaned my wound, the stinging not hurting quite as much since the cut was pretty much sealed shut. The way that his hands were able to work so delicately and smoothly was always fascinating to me, both on and off the ice. He was such a big guy compared to me that he looked like should have almost no grace at all, yet he had so much control over every part of his body. He worked quickly and soon made me a new bandage, checking my eyes again as he taped it on. He held my head in his hands and smoothed his thumb over the tape that ran across my cheek as I brought a hand up to his knee and patted it a few times, my way of saying thank you. We looked at each other and almost froze, both of our hands lingering.

Charlie slowly brought his hands down from my face as I slowly slid mine off his knee, closing my eyes as I felt the familiar beginning signs of vertigo.

“Do you want me to stay?” Charlie asked after a few moments of silence.

His tone made me open my eyes, catching me off guard. He sounded so concerned, so worried, and yet so… helpless? Wanting? There was something in his eyes that I wasn’t used to, like he wanted me to say yes. I looked deeper into his eyes for some sort of conformation that the look he was giving me was something familiar, something I had seen before, but the more I looked the more I realized that I didn’t understand what he was trying to tell me. That almost never happened.

These moments were few and far between. If Charlie and I didn’t understand each other or if we had problems, we would talk about it. We would never leave a subject untouched, but right now I knew that we weren’t going to talk about whatever this was. I was confused and my head wasn’t helping the situation, or the fact that he looked so adorable that I wanted to kiss him.

I tried to ask him with my eyes, but his expression stayed the same. I didn’t know what to do or what to say, I was so utterly confused and exhausted that I didn’t know what I wanted. Of course I wanted him to stay, but probably not in the same way that he wanted to stay. Or was that what he was trying to tell me? His proximity was distracting.

“I want you to get a good night’s rest, wherever that may be.” I said, feeling like my answer was good enough and yet turned the tables back to him.

His eyes were piercing mine and he opened his mouth to answer right as a knock came from the door. He let out a small sigh as he slowly got up to answer it, heaving the door open to reveal Jason and Maia.

I let all of the air out of my lungs in a long, quiet draw, feeling my heart beat faster and louder like it was going to beat right out of my chest. What was that? What had just happened between us? The question “Do you want me to stay?” was something that we had both asked each other so many times over the years, making sure the other knew that they had our support. When the other was having a particularly difficult day, it was a question we always asked in case one needed an extra hand to hold or another person nearby. But for some reason, the all too familiar question had had such a different connotation, such a different underlying question behind it that I wasn’t sure what was happening. Did I imagine that? Was Charlie just really asking if I wanted him nearby? Or was he asking me something completely different? I couldn’t think about it anymore, not in my current state.

“Hey Meryl, how do you feel?” Jason asked, timidly entering the room, carrying my tennis shoes with him and setting them down on the floor.

“I feel better, thank you.” I smiled, shaking the earlier conversation out of my head. “Thanks for bringing my shoes, guys.”

“No problem, we just wanted to see how you were.” Maia asked, standing next to Jason. “Everyone hopes you feel better.”

“That’s sweet of you.” I said as Maia turned to Charlie and asked him a few questions about tomorrow to make sure we were up to date.

“Have a good night Meryl, Charlie, see you two tomorrow.” Jason waved as he said goodnight, waving to Maia too, who was supposed to be my roommate.

“I’m staying with Marissa tonight, there’s some boy drama going on that we need to talk about.” She giggled, brushing her hair out of her face. “I’ll see you two tomorrow, goodnight!” she waved, shutting the door behind her.

I looked back at Charlie, who was leaning against the wall, suddenly looking as exhausted as I felt.

“I guess I’ll go see where Alex is.” He said, walking over to turn the desk lamp on before turning off the overhead light. “I’ll see you in the morning, Meryl. Feel better. Call me if you need anything, I'll be just a few doors down. Sweet dreams.” He said, giving me a smile as he walked over to the door to retrieve his skates.

“Charlie?” I said, sitting up a little to see him from the other room. He walked back into the room, his skates slung over his shoulder.

“Thank you.” I said, trying to convey how heartfelt the statement really was and how much I appreciated him, and his smile told me that he understood. That distracting, wonderful smile told me that he would always understand.


	3. Nervous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even the best of us get nervous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely apologize for being MIA for over a year... Sometimes life happens and it's nothing like you expect it to be, but everything happens for a reason and eventually things will look up! Thanks to everyone for all of your kind words about this story and for not giving up on it! You're all so wonderful and special and I wish I could give you all hugs.  
> Enjoy! (As always, feedback is appreciated!)

I pulled the laces of my skates tightly, my fingers quickly knotting the strings into a loopy mess. I sighed as I looked down at my black skates, my laces looking just how my stomach felt. I wiped my hands on my pants and tried to gather my thoughts. I couldn’t afford to lose my cool today. If I ever had to put in a perfect practice, it was now.

I looked up across the locker room to see Meryl looping her laces around her nimble fingers, glancing up at me when she was done. She gave me a confident smile, one that looked calm and collected. She had a twinkle in her eye, one that soothed me more than she would ever know. I returned her smile, feeling much more certain about today’s practice. 

It was our last practice before we flew off to Sochi for the Olympics. We had one more practice before we flew across the country in an attempt to achieve our dream, one that we had been working towards for most of our lives. Today was our last shot, our last attempt to feel prepared before leaving. I felt the nerves run through my veins but the second I looked at Meryl, all of those thoughts went away. I felt calm and prepared, and I knew that everything would be alright if she was at my side. 

“You ready?” she asked quietly, her face full of warmth and grace, making my stomach flutter with something like nerves, something that I tried to swallow. I was captivated by her smile, her bright eyes, and the happiness that seemed to radiate off her whenever we got ready to practice. 

“Always.” I said, giving her a smile, standing up and holding out my hand. She grabbed it thankfully, and things felt like they settled into place. She had been the one holding my hand for seventeen years, and she was the only one that made me feel complete. Alone, I was just Charlie. Plain Charlie, a used-to-be hockey player, student, brother, and son. But together, we were Meryl and Charlie, the ice dancing duo, best friends, partners, two people who completely understood every part of each other. 

Before I knew it we were out on the ice, skating hand in hand around the perimeter of the rink, our blades settling easily onto the slick ice. The seats that lined the rink were empty except for one short, sharp faced Russian woman who was making her way down to the edge. She gave us a kind smile when we slowed to a stop in front of her. 

“Today is it. You two know what you must do.” She said to us quietly. “Have a great practice. See you tomorrow.” She said, grabbing her purse and walking out of the rink. She knew that we had put enough pressure on ourselves that we could do this last practice on our own. We could experience this with just the two of us. 

I turned to Meryl and gave her a smile, one that she returned as we skated to the center of the rink, looking up in the box to see who would be up there in charge of music. That was usually the job of a junior skater or someone that was wandering the halls. I looked up to see a kid I knew as Nick, a fifteen year old single skater. He gave us a thumbs up and I gave him one back, looking down at Meryl again to check her eyes. 

They were full of anticipation and excitement, happiness and joy. She was ready, and I knew it. Her smile was wide and true, and completely entrancing. I grabbed her waist naturally as we struck our opening pose, the music filling the empty rink. 

The rest of practice flowed in a haze of sorts, Meryl and I saying nothing to each other. We practiced the program in full a few times, then twizzles, then lifts, over and over. We never spoke, only communicating through looks and feeling, but that was all we needed. By the time practice was over, we were exhausted, but we felt good. We felt prepared. 

We skated off the rink together and headed back to the locker room silently, kicking off our skates and getting ready to leave. Once we had packed all of our things, I took a look around the locker room. The next time we would be back there, we would hopefully be Olympic champions. I turned to look at Meryl and I knew she was thinking the same thing. 

“Ready to go?” I asked her, and she took a deep breath before nodding, following me out of the rink to my car. I zipped my coat up as we made our way through the parking lot, the chill of the Michigan winter freezing me to the core. The two of us got into my car quickly, our teeth chattering before I put my key in the ignition, the engine giving a squeal of protest before starting up. The heat was turned on full blast as the car finally began to warm up and we headed home. 

“I’m not quite sure how to feel about all of this.” Meryl said, bringing her knees up to her chest and turning to look at me. “It doesn’t feel like it’s really happening.”

“You’re right, me neither.” I said, brushing some hair out of my eyes. “Are you excited?”

“Yes!” she giggled. “I’m so excited. The last Olympics were so much fun, I’m sure these are going to be great. I can’t wait to see everyone again and go perform. Years of hard work comes down to a few days these next two weeks.”

“I know…”I trailed off. “I’m excited, but it feels kind of surreal, like it’s all a dream. I’m sure once we get there it will feel pretty real.”

“I think so too.” Meryl answered, looking at her phone and letting out a little giggle. “Maia said Alex hasn’t even started to pack yet.”

I sighed, leaning my head against the headrest. “God, are you serious? If he forgets anything I will not feel bad for him!” I laughed. 

“Come on, yes you will!” Meryl laughed. “And you’ll let him borrow some of your socks like always.”

“Fine, you’re right.” I said, admitting defeat. Alex knew that he could always come to me and ask for things he forgot and I would gladly give him some. “How is your face feeling?” I asked. 

She subconsciously brought a hand up to feel the absence of stitches, running her fingers along the slight scar that was there. After we got home from the Expo, she went to the doctor and got some antibiotics for her infection. Thankfully it wasn’t too bad and she only had to take one day off the ice. You could barely tell that there was a scar there, and she usually covered it up with makeup anyways. Every time I looked at it I felt guilty, but I tried to stop since I knew that Meryl wouldn’t want that. 

“It feels good, back to normal.” She smiled, fiddling with the radio station now that we were thawed enough to move comfortably. She turned on our Coldplay CD as the song “Yellow” sang quietly through the speakers. “Do you remember what time we’re leaving tomorrow?” she asked almost teasingly. 

“5:30.” I sighed, merging onto the freeway. 

“And our plane leaves when?” she giggled. 

“8.”I laughed. 

“Just checking.” She smirked. “It will be so nice to see everyone again, I can’t wait. I’ve missed Jason and Marissa and Madison and Evan and Jeremy and the ShibSibs.”

“I know, it’s always so much fun when we’re together. And this time we can experience this whole Olympic thing as one group.”

“I can’t wait.” Meryl smiled, giving me butterflies again. I really needed to stop. 

We chatted the rest of the way home and it was eleven by the time I pulled up into her driveway. I kept the car running, fiddling with my keychain before I looked over at her, not sure I really wanted to say goodbye just yet. She gave me the same look, and I could tell in her eyes that she wanted me to stay. 

“Would you like to come in?” she asked quietly. 

I smiled, turning off the car and entering the frigid air again, the two of us running into the house and quickly closing the door behind us. 

“Hi you two! Did you have a good last practice?” Cheryl called from the kitchen as we took off our winter coats and slid off our boots. 

“It went really well.” Meryl said, walking into the large open kitchen and leaning on the back of a bar stool. 

“Yeah, we’re really happy with it. I think we are as ready as we will ever be.” I said, walking over to give Cheryl, my second mom, a hug. 

“Oh Charlie.” She giggled, wrapping her arms around me tightly before getting back to stirring her tea. “Well your father’s in bed and I’m headed that way. See you two in the morning.” She smiled, carrying her tea with her and giving us both kisses on the cheek before disappearing around the corner. 

“I’m going to have some hot cocoa, do you want anything?” Meryl asked, getting up and grabbing a mug. 

“Hot cocoa sounds perfect.” I said, pulling out my phone and seeing I had ten texts and three missed calls from Alex. I laughed, picturing him ransacking our house on campus trying to find everything that he needed before tomorrow. Would he ever learn? 

I dialed his number and waited for him to answer. He picked up halfway in to the first ring. 

“Charlie, get better at answering your phone!” Alex said loudly. 

“Get better at planning and start packing earlier!” I laughed. Meryl turned around and gave me a smile before reaching up in the cupboard to grab some hot cocoa mix. 

“Ha. Funny. Seriously though, where is that purple laundry basket that had all of my socks in it?” he said frantically, and I could hear him rustling around. 

Alex, Evan, and I shared a house on campus. It worked out really well, since Meryl and Maia were close and so was the rink. Living with those two wasn’t as bad as I originally thought, but things were a bit unorganized and meals did get a little desperate. I was the one that kept a tight ship – making sure someone shopped for groceries every week, did laundry, and cleaned the bathroom. Since I hadn’t been there over winter break, I could guess that it had gotten pretty nasty. 

“You mean the one that was there since before I left for break?” 

“Yes, the one that was there since before you left. I am a horrible person, I deserve to be punished for this, yes, I know, let’s move on please.” He said. 

“The last time I remember seeing it was behind the couch in the living room. Did you check there?”

“Behind the couch?” he asked as I heard him bound down the stairs, rustling a few things around before screaming. 

“HALLELUJAH!” Alex shouted so loudly that I had to pull the phone away from my ear, Meryl jumping and turning around to give me a strange look as she stirred the hot cocoa. 

“Charlie, I owe you my life. I will be your humble servant for eternity.” He said dramatically.

“Um…” I trailed off. “You know what, just buy me some McNuggets.” I said. 

“There will be a box of 20 warm McNuggets waiting for you at the airport tomorrow. Thanks dude.”

“Of course, good luck packing. Call if you need anything else.” I laughed. 

“Perfect. Bye.” He said, hanging up. 

“What was that about?” Meryl giggled, setting a warm mug of cocoa in front of me. 

“Alex couldn’t find his socks. They have been sitting in the same place since before I left. Sometimes I don’t understand him.” I laughed, thanking her for the hot cocoa. 

“Sometimes? I never understand him!” she giggled, taking a sip and warming her hands with her mug, taking a few steps towards the stairway. I grabbed my mug and followed her quietly up the stairway, making a left once we got to the top and walking into her room. 

Her room, much like mine, hadn’t changed since we were kids. It was clean and very organized, and there wasn’t any clutter. It was simple, elegant, and very Meryl. The walls were a light purple, her bedspread and curtains were darker, and she had white and black throw pillows on her bed and bay window seat. She had a few paintings up on the walls and a few photographs on the edge of her vanity mirror, but that was it. Nothing too over the top, everything in its place. The only corner that looked mildly cluttered was her picture collage above her left nightstand. 

It was filled to the brim with pictures, mostly of the two of us, but a few with some of her sorority sisters. It had us in our early nineties clothing all the way through Nationals a few weeks ago. I knew that she had a picture from every performance that we have ever done on that collage somewhere, all with dates and scores written on the back with black marker. 

She crawled onto her bed and placed her mug on the nightstand closest to her, bringing her feet up to her chest. 

I set my mug down on a coaster and looked up at the collage, giggling at one picture in particular where we both had braces. The dreaded years. “Can we look at these?” I laughed. 

“Oh God.” She said, putting her face in her hands. “Sure.” She laughed with me as I reached up and pulled the collage off the walls. 

I crawled up on the bed next to her, making myself at home and placing the collage in front of us, all sorts of memories coming to mind. 

“Oh no!” she giggled, pulling a very horrible picture of the two of us out of the middle. Junior Nationals, back in late middle school. We both had braces and she had bigger hair, the two of us standing with our gold medals and looking gawky. 

“Wow.” Was all I could say, setting that one aside. “Hey, this was our first Worlds we won!” I said, grabbing a picture from the top left. We were center on the podium, holding flowers and smiling with our medals. 

“Oh, the Tango. I loved that routine.” She said, leaning closer in order to get a better look. “We skated it the best at Worlds. That was such a great day.” 

“I know. I’ll never forget it.” I whispered. 

She looked at me and smiled, and I was completely captivated. Her eyes were sparkling, her smile was radiating warmth, and she looked so happy and content that I wanted to lean in and kiss her. I swallowed the feeling and pointed out another picture, knowing that kissing her a day before we left for the Olympics would not be good timing. 

“This is from Nationals back in 2010. Do you remember, you were sick a week before!” Meryl said, pulling a photo from the top right corner. 

“Of course I remember! You nursed me back to health!” I smiled, looking at the photo for the first time in years. I still did look pretty out of it. Somehow, we managed to win gold.

I had the 48 hour flu that year and was incredibly sick. I had gotten it from Evan, and it was rough. I was bedridden for four days and missed practice for a week. I told Meryl to stay away, scared that I was going to get her sick, but she ignored my protests and showed up at my door with books and warm chicken broth. After I realized that she wouldn’t leave, I let her sit on the floor by my bed, making her open the window to at least try and air out some of the sickness. I sipped broth while she read me Lord of the Rings until I passed out and woke up better the next day. She was always looking out for me. I knew that she would be there, and she knew that I would always be there for her. We were so lucky to have found each other.

We spent most of the rest of the night looking and laughing at pictures until our hot cocoa was long gone. We would usually spend the night together before very important competitions in order to keep each other calm. We needed each other in order to stay relaxed and positive. We needed to be there for each other. This time though, there was such a different atmosphere. I couldn’t quite tell if it was because of the looming Olympics, or because of a change from our end. Ever since the Expo we had been so incredibly aware of each other, even more than before. I tried not to read too much into it as we talked and giggled the night away, finally slowing down around two in the morning. We had fallen backwards on her bed, exhausted and needing to get up in a few hours.

“What do you think Sochi will be like?” she asked me quietly, her voice soft. 

“Cold.” I chuckled, making her giggle in response. “I don’t know what to expect. I’m ready for anything.” I said, eventually giving her an actual answer. She mulled this over for a long time as she looked up at the ceiling, her fingers fiddling with the tassels on the blanket she was curled under. I turned my head ever so slightly to watch her, unable to sense what she was thinking. I knew she wanted to say something so I waited quietly as she took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slowly, and she looked so angelic and beautiful that I had to tell myself to breathe.

“Are you nervous?” she finally whispered quietly into the darkness. I felt her shift on the bed as she turned over to face me, her body closer now.

I blinked, feeling the flutter of butterflies in the depths of my stomach. I wasn’t nervous about the Olympics. I knew that we would perform our best and that would be enough for me. My nerves stemmed from a completely different source: her. 

I turned to face her, meeting her eyes. They were uncertain. 

“A little.” I breathed, her eyes remaining tentative. I knew she would have some nerves, but not like this. Not enough where they would be affecting her this much. “I mean, there’s a lot of pressure, but that mostly stems from us. That’s not anything new.” I said, trying to comfort her, and she nodded a little at my response. “But there’s no reason to be really nervous. It’s nothing we haven’t done before. Plus, you’ll be there with me, and I know that everything will be okay.” I smiled. 

She smiled back, brushing some of my curls out of my face. “You’re right. You’ll be there, and it will all work out.” 

“We know that once we get on the ice, everything else will fade away and it will just be you and me. We will perform it our best, I know it.” I reassured her, and she nodded. 

She sighed, closing her eyes and yawning loudly. “I’m glad it’s you by my side. I wouldn’t want anyone else.”

“Me neither.” I smiled, feeling my eyelids get so heavy that I couldn’t hold them open anymore. Somewhere in the haze of the early morning, we fell asleep in a mess of arms, legs, and pictures. 

I jumped awake at the sound of Meryl’s alarm, momentarily forgetting where I was. I opened my eyes slowly to see that it was still dark, and I made a grumbling sound and Meryl fumbled around in her pocket for her phone. 

I stayed frozen, realizing that our legs were intertwined and her head was on my chest. She quickly rolled off me in order to access her pocket, pulling out her iPhone. I sat up slowly, rubbing sleep out of my eyes as Meryl did the same, slowly untangling her legs from mine. She stretched and finally turned the alarm off, looking around and taking in her surroundings. I laid back down, my head hitting one of her black throw pillows as I felt her shove me in the side. 

“Char, get up.” She said quietly, stifling another yawn. 

“Mer…” I whined, pulling the pillow around in order to place in over my face, wanting just a few more hours of sleep. 

Meryl laughed as she continued to push me, and I knew that if I didn’t move she would push me off the bed and onto the floor. 

“Alright, I’m up!” I chuckled, standing up and stretching. Meryl giggled as she shuffled over towards the door, giving me another slight push as she walked by. I reached forward and squeezed her sides, earning a slight squeal from her before we both sleepily made our way downstairs. 

“Good morning you two!” Cheryl said to us as we walked down the stairs. 

“Good morning sleepy-heads!” My mom said from the kitchen table, stirring some creamer into her coffee. 

“Good morning mom, Jacqui.” Meryl smiled, giving them both kisses on the cheek before walking over to the kitchen and grabbing two bowls, some cereal, and the milk. 

“Hi Cheryl, hi mom.” I said, giving them hugs as I grabbed two spoons and sat down at the table next to Meryl, pouring us some cereal while she followed closely behind with the milk. We were a well-oiled machine, it didn’t matter if it was making breakfast or performing twizzles. 

“I figured you were over here when you didn’t come home last night. I brought your things over so we can just leave from here.” My mom said, taking a ship of coffee as Cheryl sat down across from me. 

“Thanks mom, you’re the best.” I said, leaning over to give her cheek a kiss. 

She gave me a smile as she took another sip of coffee. “You two look exhausted, did you get any sleep?”

I looked over at Meryl, her eyes sparkling for such an early hour. “We got some.” I said, the two of us trying not to laugh. 

“Well the good thing is you can sleep on the plane.” Cheryl said. 

“Very true. Now you two hurry up and get changed into your Ralph Lauren sweaters, the car should be here in about ten minutes.” My mom said, ushering us back upstairs. 

Getting ready was a whirlwind, even for me. All four of us were running around the house attempting to pack every last thing and making sure that we looked okay. There would definitely be some cameras at the airport with all of us being there, and Meryl was worried about looking just right. 

“The car is here!” Cheryl shouted from the front door as she started to take her luggage out, making a loud gasp once she stepped out into the cold. 

“Meryl, the car’s here.” I said, tying my shoes on the stairway right outside her door. 

“Really?” she said frantically, and I heard her rummage around inside her makeup bag. 

I got up and softly knocked on the slightly ajar door before I pushed it open. “Mer, you look fine, come on.” I said, reaching down to grab her bag and take it down stairs. 

“Just a little more mascara.” She mumbled, running across her room into her bathroom, opening a draw loudly and combing through the contents until she found what she was looking for, sliding back in front of her vanity mirror and sticking some more black goop on her lashes. 

“Seriously, you look perfect, let’s go.” I yawned as she closed the mascara and threw it in her bag. 

“Okay, how does this look?” She asked, turning around and pulling her hair to one side. 

I gulped, trying not to look like a stupid idiot. Her makeup was done to perfection, not that she needed it, and her hair was gracefully swept to one side. Her Ralph Lauren sweater made her look adorable and to be honest, she looked beautiful. I felt a rush of butterflies that I quickly suppressed, feeling my palms get slightly sweaty. I swallowed my nerves and tried to give her a casual response. 

“You look great, Mer.” I said quietly, completely captivated by her but trying to sound normal. 

“Thanks. You look sharp too.” She smiled bashfully, giving my arm a playful push. 

“Meryl? Charlie? Time to go!” Cheryl shouted, knocking the two of us out of haze, causing us to gather our things quickly and pile them into the back of the car. Before we knew it, we were on our way to the airport. 

Checking in and dropping off our luggage was easy and soon Jason and Maia were running towards us at full speed, giving us huge hugs and pulling us over to the group. 

“Charlie!” Alex shouted from across the terminal, running over to me at full speed. He stopped a few feet away from me and got down on one knee, pulling a box of 20 McNuggets out of his backpack and offering them up to me dramatically. “The debt is repaid.” He said. 

“Thanks.” I laughed, graciously taking the warm box of chicken from his extended hands. I opened them up and started to eat a few as I walked back over to boarding line, the attendant announcing that boarding was going to start any moment. 

“Hey, wait, you’re planning on sharing those, right?” Alex said, hopping off his knees and running after me, looking over my shoulder at the pile of McNuggets. 

I sighed, opening the lid of the box and letting him take two. I looked over at Meryl to see that she was smirking at me a little. 

“You spoil him.” She whispered. 

I shrugged, knowing she was right, following Maia and Jason as we started to board the plan. I watched her carefully as we walked down the metal walkway to the plane, trying to get a grasp of how she was feeling. In the haze of last night’s late conversation, I wondered if she remembered revealing her nerves to me. Now that the plans were in motion, did she feel confident? Or were her nerves already starting to bother her before we even took off? 

I reached forward and grabbed her elbow with my hand, giving her a gentle squeeze as she tilted her head to look over at me. She smiled tenderly, looking calm and happy. I returned her smile, feeling a little more relieved, as we piled onto the plane, settling in quickly for our long journey to Sochi. 

“You ready?” I asked her as we were taxiing out to the runway, giving her knee a little nudge with mine. 

She gave me one of her enchanting, captivating smiles as she nodded, linking her arm in mine. “With you, I’m ready.” She said confidently.


End file.
